In a surprising turn of political events in the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, today announced the opening of an investigation that could lead to the impeachment of President Joe Biden. Republicans argue that Biden has lied to the American people and engaged in corruption. However, the White House has called this process “extreme politics at its worst.”
The US Constitution states that Congress can remove the president for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Republicans, who currently hold the majority in the House of Representatives, have been conducting parliamentary investigations into matters involving Hunter Biden, the president’s youngest son.
Republican lawmakers say they have “identified serious and credible allegations about President Biden’s conduct” and that he has contributed to a “culture of corruption. They also accuse the president of lying about what he knew about his family’s business abroad.
Despite this ongoing investigation, it is important to note that it is unlikely to lead to Biden’s impeachment, as Democrats maintain the majority in the Senate, the chamber responsible for trying presidents.
Hunter Biden, the president’s son, has become the focus of the attention of the American right. Republicans accuse him of having done business abroad, taking advantage of the name and contacts of his father, who was vice president under Barack Obama’s administration.
The opening of this impeachment procedure has been a demand of the Trumpist faction of the Republican Party for some time. However, some moderate Republican lawmakers oppose this investigation for fear that it will become a purely partisan exercise.
Although the investigation has begun, it is important to remember that, to date, no United States president has been removed from office in an impeachment trial in the country’s history. Three presidents, Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump, have faced impeachment charges in the past, but all were eventually acquitted. Richard Nixon chose to resign in 1974 ahead of an imminent impeachment due to the Watergate scandal.